Another legal twist in the case of former University of Cincinnati basketball coach Andy Kennedy, who was accused last month of assaulting a cab driver.

Kennedys wife sued that cab driver and a valet driver who backed his claims to police and the media, saying their accusations had harmed the couple's personal relationship, including their sex life.

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Kennedy, who was in Cincinnati as the head coach for the University of Mississippi, was charged Dec. 18 with misdemeanor assault after police said he punched cabbie Mohamed Jiddou while shouting racial slurs at him after leaving a downtown bar.

The basketball coach sued Jiddou and valet Michael Strother for defamation the day after his arrest. The lawsuit was ammended three days later to include his wife, Kimber Kennedy, claiming a lack of consortium because of the accusations against her husband.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Friday on the assault charge, which Kennedy has emphatically denied.

Kennedy coached the Bearcats on an interim basis during the 2005-2006 season, after former Coach Bob Huggins was fired.